Category: enforcement

commuting, education, encouragement, enforcement, events, safety, transportation

Successful bike-safety events held

photo of Bob McBride helping fit a UD student with a new helmet
BikeNewark chair Bob McBride helps fit a UD student with a new DelDOT-donated helmet.

As has been done for nearly 10 years, BikeNewark worked with partner groups this fall to hold two bicycle-safety checkpoint events on the University of Delaware (UD) campus, adjacent to the two-way protected bicycle lane that comprises the northern east-west portion of the Central Loop of the Newark Bikeways low-stress network. This fall, two-hour events were held on September 23 and October 1, in partnership with the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT), the University of Delaware Police Department (UDPD), and Delaware Commute Solutions.

photo of Mark Deshon giving out some safety information
BikeNewark’s Mark Deshon discusses some safety-info handouts with a UD student.
photo of Chip Kneavel inflating a student's tire
DelDOT’s Chip Kneavel inflates a UD student’s tire on the brick patio area adjacent to Delaware Avenue.


The purpose of these twice-a-semester events is to help inform students about bicycle safety and local safe-bicycling routes, provide minor bike repairs or adjustments, and install free front and rear bike lights and offer a free helmet*, both courtesy of DelDOT.

photo of Amy Reardon talking with a student about Delaware Commute Solutions
Amy Reardon gives a student information about Delaware Commute Solutions benefits.

This fall was a record-breaking season for the free bike lights and helmets given by DelDOT. The October event smashed any previous event’s numbers, as 26 sets of bike lights were installed and 15 helmets were given to UD students. Combined with the initial event in September, this fall we distributed 45 sets of lights and 24 helmets, far beyond what we had ever done before.

photo of Dave Schultz and Mark Deshon installing bike lights
BikeNewark’s Dave Schultz and Mark Deshon install front and rear lights on a student’s bike.

It’s clear that there is always a real need and interest among UD students for the services we offer as a means of fulfilling a commitment to improve bicycle safety in Newark. BikeNewark thanks its volunteers as well as staff from DelDOT, UDPD, and Delaware Commute Solutions for helping make these events such a success.

photo of the BikeNewark tent and volunteer crew
Our BikeNewark tent was prominent on The Green at our September 23 bicycle-safety checkpoint.

*provided one promises to wear it

communication, commuting, education, encouragement, enforcement, events

Successful bike-safety checkpoints held

photo of Jacquee Lukawski and John Fiori at checkpoint tent
BikeNewark secretary Jacquee Lukawski and DelDOT’s John Fiori await student customers at the bike-safety checkpoint adjacent to the Delaware Avenue two-way protected bikeway.

In cooperation with the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT), the University of Delaware (UD) Department of Public Safety (UDPD), and Delaware Commute Solutions, BikeNewark held spring bicycle-safety checkpoint events on the UD campus on April 1st and April 9th.

photo of Bob McBride and student
BikeNewark chair Bob McBride talks with a student about the importance of wearing a helmet.

During these events, BikeNewark members and DelDOT and Delaware Commute Solutions staff members interacted with approximately 40 UD students. Free bike lights and helmets were offered. Bicycle-safety information, most of which is available on our Other Resources webpage, was handed out, depending on the particular student’s interest, needs, and/or safety violation.

photo of student and John Fiori
A student looks on as DelDOT’s John Fiori installs a free bike light on her electric bicycle.

A total of 18 sets of bicycle lights (white front light, red rear light) were installed onto student bicycles, and five helmets were fitted and given away. The weather on each day was cold and somewhat windy, so these numbers were much lower than normally experienced during typical checkpoint events.

Students who were serviced left overwhelmingly happy that we had provided them with useful information and safety gear. Two such events will again be offered on campus in September.

commuting, encouragement, enforcement, engineering, infrastructure, news, projects, safety, transportation

Delaware Ave. cycletrack completed

On Thursday, November 10, 2022, DelDOT officially opened to bicycle traffic the completed two-way protected bikeway (a.k.a. cycletrack) on Delaware Avenue. Eight days later on November 18, dignitaries came together for an official ribbon-cutting ceremony.

> See ribbon-cutting article in the Newark Post

diagram of DelDOT-sourced illustration
DelDOT diagram of the two-way protected bikeway infrastructure on Delaware Avenue
photo of paint treatment in conflict zone
Solid green surface treatment in conflict zones

This brought to a close a nearly $8 million project that was first thought about in the 1990s, included as a recommendation in the 2014 Newark Bicycle Plan, and advocated for by BikeNewark’s predecessor entity in 2014.

> See excerpt from June 2014 partnership meeting minutes (PDF)

Protective beveled concrete curbing separating bikeway from vehicle travel lane

The primary motivation for such a project was to provide a safe, legal way for bicyclists to move westbound through Newark’s downtown area. Previously, the only legal way for bicyclists to get from Library Avenue or Kirkwood Highway to South Main Street, West Main Street, or New London Road was to use Cleveland Avenue or East Main Street—both higher-stress options for cyclists, even with the recent improvements to those two major streets.

Bicycle-specific traffic signals in both directions along bikeway

Amenities for bicyclists along Delaware Avenue that were included in this project:

photo of bike signal meaning sign
Bike-signal sign explaining red, yellow, flashing yellow, and green signals
  • a two-way protected bikeway from Orchard Road to the Pomeroy Trail, separated from the traffic lane by a 3-inch-high beveled concrete barrier
  • one-way elevated bike paths on either side of the road from the Pomeroy Trail to Library Avenue
  • separate bicycle-specific traffic signals in both directions
  • green surface paint through intersections and at conflict points (e.g., driveways)
  • bike boxes at the eastern and western ends of the project (Delaware Avenue / Library Avenue intersection and the Amstel Avenue / South Main Street intersection)
photo of bike box on Del. Ave. at Library Ave.
Bike box at Library Avenue intersection

This completion of this project finishes the final segment of the Central Loop Bikeway, the hub of the Newark Bikeways low-stress bicycle network. Wayfinding signage for the Delaware Avenue portion of the Central Loop will be added in 2023.

> See related Newark Post article
> See project history article
> See DelDOT project safety flyer (PDF)

Thanks to these partner organizations—Bike Delaware, DelDOT, the City of Newark, and the Wilmington Area Planning Council—for their support and involvement in the conception and construction of this infrastructure, pretty much a unique feature in Delaware.

education, enforcement, news, policy, safety

Support HB36, keep the “Delaware Yield”

excerpt from BikeNewark’s BFDA brochure that highlights safe yieldingBikeNewark asks that you contact your Delaware state legislators and urge them to support HB36, the bill that, if passed, would permanently add the “Delaware Yield” to the state’s Code.

The Bicycle Friendly Delaware Act (BFDA) that was signed into law by Governor Carney in 2017 was sponsored by multiple state agencies, including the Delaware State Police, DelDOT, Delaware Greenways, and many others. Part of this act includes the “Delaware Yield,” which makes it lawful for bicyclists to safely yield at stop sign–controlled intersections. However, there was a ”sunset clause” within the BFDA, meaning that the aforementioned feature can be removed from the law.

Similar versions of the law have passed in Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, with resolutions pending in other states and municipalities. One study from DePaul University’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development showed that “yielding to managing the intersection by cyclists is often safer than having them stop at the intersection” and “it makes laws more realistic for bikers that they can more realistically follow.”

Delaware has seen its own benefits, as data (below) from the Delaware State Police below compares bicycle crashes before and after the law was enacted in 2017.

“Delaware Yield” safety data from Delaware State Police